What is the reason behind the enslavement of Hindus for a thousand years? Why Hindus are unable to be united despite the best efforts of so many great souls? Why Hindus are unable to assert their cultural identity and freedom in their motherland? Why Hindus suffer the onslaught of conversions and distortion of the idea of Bharat? What should be the religion of a New India? The discussion here explains the whole background of these issues.
There are three spiritual systems in the world that embrace all spiritual visions. The first one is the Manvantara Spiritual Order or Sanatana Dharma (Jnana tradition of Rishis). The second one is the Trimurti Order, in which three major sects are integrated into a single order under the idea of Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, by the authors of Puranas. For this reason, the Trimurti system can also be referred to as Puranic Hinduism or Smartha tradition. Some Indologists call it Brahmanical Hinduism too, because a Brahmin is extolled as a Deva (Brahmana Devo Bhava) and therefore, superior to all other castes.
The third one is Prophetical Religions that promote faith in the One God through the medium of a Prophet.
The Manvantara Spiritual Order is centered around Manu, who is God in creation mode. Manvantara Spiritual Order upholds the concept of Brahm or Paramatma, the One God of the universe. Between the Paramatma and man, there is only one medium - His messengers, i.e. the sages, seers, and gurus.
Although the Abrahamic religions believe in One God and the mediumship of a Prophet, their worldview, as well as the idea of creation, is crude. Moreover, the Abrahamic religions lack important concepts such as Cosmic Time Order, Evolution of Jeevas through various Lokas, the theory of Karma, and Reincarnation.
The Puranic tradition through the eighteen Puranas and Itihasas propagates the idea of Trimurti and the large family of deities under them for worship. There are hundreds of sects and schools of thought under the Trimurti Order. There are no fixed laws or common rituals. There is total freedom to be a believer or a non-believer. There is no spiritual authority also to interfere or control the freedom of people in the matter of faith. Although freedom of individuals is commendable, there is rampant misuse of this freedom and a person is able to escape without any punishment even if he denounces the faith.
Hinduism has six philosophical systems. One can find the roots of all thoughts in the world in these philosophies. Among the philosophies of Hindus, Vedanta occupies an important place as it is the basic thought-current of the Vedas and Upanishads. Advaita Vedanta, a branch of Vedanta, has been placed on the highest pedestal by all great thinkers in the world as man’s ultimate spiritual thought-process. Nevertheless, the Advaita philosophy of pure Non-Dual Truth (i.e. God, the Absolute Truth alone exists) has not been found favor with many god-fearing sages in Trimurti Order itself. Madvacharya was one of the main opponents of Advaita Vedanta. He advocated Dvaita philosophy (accepting the medium of a Guru or Devata to achieve the state of Advaita, i.e. the non-dual state of Absolute Truth.
It is against the Will of God to consider what God has created imagining itself to be the Creator as suggested by the saying ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ (I am God), said Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru. Navajyothi Sri Karunakara Guru reveals that ‘Ahama Brahmasmi’ is a major error that had occurred in Indian spirituality. Any evil spirit can be elevated to the level of God by this concept.
Is there any difference between Sanatana Dharma and Puranic Hinduism? This is an important question that all practitioners of Hinduism should give a thought to. Since both these systems draw from a common source, it is difficult to distinguish the difference. The fundamental principles of Sanatana Dharma rest on the concept of Manu and the world teachers (Kalanthara Gurus) appearing in the epoch of Manu. Manu is the originator of every episode of creation, i.e. the Kalpa and Manvantara time cycles.
14 Manus prepare the blueprint of every solar system in a Kalpa and guide the Jeevas (souls) in their spiritual evolution through the Yuga cycles. For this reason, Sanatana Dharma is also known as Manu Parampara or Manvantara Spiritual Order. The Rishis have even mentioned the name of 14 Manus. We are living in the seventh Manvantara and the Manu is Vaivasvata Manu.
The Manvantara Spiritual Order believes that all human beings came from a Single Source, i.e. Manu, the Cosmic Purusha. So Manu is God in creation mode. The man was created in the image of that Cosmic Purusha. For this reason, Manu is mentioned as the Progenitor of mankind, the Supreme Father. The purpose of life is to evolve and to merge with the Cosmic Purusha and attain Mukthi. The Abrahamic religions borrowed this idea from Indian spirituality and prospered.
For achieving Mukthi, the soul incarnates innumerable times. A Kalanthara Guru guides the evolution of souls. Manu Parampara means the spiritual brotherhood of these gurus and the dharma revealed by these Mahatmas become the Veda. Sanatana Dharma is the spiritual culture of these Mahatmas or Rishis. At the beginning of every yuga, the Veda gets revealed through the Kalanthara Guru under Manu Parampara. Sanatana Dharma means the eternal or everlasting dharma guiding the spiritual evolution of humanity. By its own definition, Sanatana Dharma is the God-ordained spiritual system universally applicable to all people.
In contrast to the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma, the Trimurti order identifies itself with the Karamakanda of Vedas and the mythology in the Puranas that extol the supremacy of gods and worship of deities through mantra and `tantra. The Vedas were revealed in the earlier Yugas, i.e. Satya Yuga, Treta, and Dwapara and that was the dharma of those ages. While the basic principles remain the same, the modes of worship and spiritual authorities change in every Yuga. This change is applicable to Kali Yuga also. It is a science related to evolution through the Manvantara time order.
The above said truth was first revealed by Sri Krishna. But the orthodoxy did not welcome the change and continued to stick on to the old system. When they refused to accept the Yuga Dharma of Kali Yuga, God gave the message in various ways through Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavir, and so many other Mahatmas highlighting the spiritual transition in Kali Yuga. Unfortunately, their efforts did not succeed. Then God sent other messengers in different parts of the world in order to implement the dharma of Kali Yuga by force or choice. In short, India was left behind in this spiritual transition or advancement.
The worship of Devatas, the performance of Siddhis, etc. belong to past ages - Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga. Kali Yuga is the age of Jnana or spiritual realization. Kali Yuga is the stepping stone to Satya Yuga, the all truthful age. So the souls must attain necessary qualifications to be promoted to Satya Yuga by achieving spiritual excellence in Kali Yuga through a realized Guru. For this reason, even the Devatas want to be born in Kali Yuga in Bharat, the scriptures say. However, the orthodoxy portrayed Kali Yuga as a ruinous Yuga because the old ways of worship lose significance in Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga is the age of spiritual and material advancement. All people have equal opportunities to evolve into Satya Yuga. This is an age for correction of mistakes that occurred in the previous Yugas.
The other schools of thought have not accepted the orthodox Trimurti order, the Puranic Hinduism because of its time-barred worship system and caste-based division of society. The birth of different spiritual movements in India like Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and sects like Kabir Panth, Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, etc. and religious conversions of Hindus to Islam and Christianity can be seen in the light of this rift. The only way to prevent the disintegration of Hindus is to follow the Manvantara Spiritual Order, i.e. Sanatana Dharma in its purity. This forms the discourse of Navajyothi Sree Karunakara Guru, the great Guru in prophecies.
In the Trimurti system, the nucleus of society is the temple and the priest. In Sanatana Dharma, the nucleus is the Ashram and a Trikala Jnani Guru, who sits in the Ashram for the guidance of society. Every Grihasthashrami (householders) is thus guided by Guru. When the Griha (family) gets linked with Ashram and Guru, that becomes Grihasthashrama Dharma. Grihasthashrama Dharma can be fulfilled only through the guidance of Guru.
India has distanced itself from the Ashram culture and therefore, Gurus are not given a proper place in the society. The main reason behind it is the spiritual distortion prevailing at present. Today, gurus and ashrams proclaim the glory of Sanatana Dharma without knowing the true spiritual framework of Sanatana Dharma.
The Kalanthara Guru has control over the whole people, including the government. That is the concept of governance in Sanatana Dharma. In ancient times, the kings governed the country under the guidance of such Gurus only. Sanatana Dharma envisages a singular control over society. As there are no divisions of caste, creed, gender, etc. there is an absolute sense of unity.
In the Trimurti order, this unity and singular control are not possible because of the importance of three main sects, which have different deities as objects of worship and different Karmakanda and philosophies as well as different spiritual authorities. While one sect considers Siva as the Originator, the other as Vishnu, and yet another as Brahma, Goddess, and so on. The people are divided among unequal caste groups. And there is no possibility of getting united under a singular spiritual authority as different deities and priests are the media between man and God. All efforts to unite Hindus have so far failed because of this spiritual disunity and social fragmentation.
Friction exists between these two thought currents from ancient times. The concept of Yuga Dharma through the cycles of Yugas and Manvantaras is fundamental to the inner teachings of Sanatana Dharma. It’s time the Hindu society and its leaders review the original concepts in order to confront the forces that threaten their very existence in their motherland Bharat.
Only through the acceptance of the Manvantara Spiritual Order Hindus can unite and confront the onslaught of outside religions and bring peace to the world. India can again rise to the status of Vishwa Guru and show others the right path. The spiritual movement of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru is a beginning in this direction.
